For my unessay, I decided to try and recreate my own version of a children’s book for the long-time classic Beowulf. After discussing with Professor Helms for our one-on-one meeting we, unfortunately, concluded that creating an entirely new story from begging to end would be a bit tedious and time-consuming for a project that should take 8-10 hours. The idea of creating a storyboard instead as to how I would want to lay out my store seemed like a much better idea to me and him instead. The storyboard would be a somewhat basic layout of the important scenes I wish to include and how they would play out in my story compared to the original old English version. Which we all know is quite the mouthful to read. For my reflection of my unessay, I’m going to highlight my favorite highlights of the storyboard, why I thought they were some of my most important scenes, and how I made it my own. Although there were many other scenes I could’ve included from my storyboard but below I’ve listed a few!
Scene 1:
I decided to call this scene on the store board “The coming of Beowulf”. This scene is when Beowulf catches word of all the destruction Grendel was causing to Hrothgar. Beowulf could not sit idly by while his neighboring kingdom was under attack. Beowulf decided to venture Herot to help. Upon arrival, Beowulf learns Grendel’s plans and tries to come up with a plan of his own to defeat Grendel. Beowulf was eager to fight.
(I created my own images these are for word press examples of what I did!)
Lines:
“I must help my friends, they need me!” Beowulf says, “I am leaving right now!” Beowulf hoped on his horse and rode to Herot.
For my first image, I chose the image of a man riding a horse. I chose this image to show students how noble and brave Beowulf was. He dropped everything to be there for Herot during the story. They needed Beowulfs help and he couldn’t refuse. This image is perfect for showing this part of my storyboard because the viewers can clearly see the horse is in a rush from his hoofs kicking up dust around them and Beowulf is arms bore ready on top of that horse for battle.
Next page:
Beowulf made it safely to the kingdom where he is greeted by the king. The king excitedly says, “Beowulf thank goodness you’re here! Come I need to fill you in on everything”. Beowulf follows the king while he speaks to him. Beowulf very upset says, “no, this must stop. I’ll stop him, ill show him a monster”. Beowulf is left ready for a fight.
Scene 2:
The next scene I found important to mention was called “The Battle with Grendel” Beowulf leaves to go defeat Grendel during the fight. One of Beowulf’s followers/helpers was killed during the attack with Grendel. Beowulf, while furious because of what happened, attacks Grendel immediately. Unfortunately, Grendel was able to stop Beowulf at first. Beowulf started to become more nervous because he thought he was going to be defeated himself. Then all of a sudden they were finally able to capture Grendel for good. Grendel was defeated and taken to Herot. Upon Beowulf’s return, he took his final revenge on Grendel by keeping his arm as a trophy. Later that evening while celebrating Grendel’s defeat, Grendel’s mother came for her own revenge.
Lines:
In a quick second, one of Beowulf’s closest friends was gone… In an angered rage Beowulf attacks “No you monster, stop!”. He shouts and runs towards Grendel. “You are no match for me”. Grendel roars and throws his huge arms in the sky. Beowulf reaches for his pack and with a quick toss, Grendel was captured by ropes and taken to the ground.
For my second image, I chose a photo of a man standing over, fighting a giant horrifying, and disgusting creature. In the image we see the creature’s arm being torn away. This image was a perfect fit for this part of the story because Beowulf battles Grendel himself. It’s a long, hard battle but the noble Beowulf ends up on top in the end.
Next Page:
Grendel was taken to Herot. Do not fear though because Beowulf got his revenge on the monster. He decides to take Grendel’s arm so he can never lay his heavy hand on an innocent person ever again!
Scene 3:
For the last scene, I feel is important to share with my storyboard I called “The Monster’s Lair”. This scene explains the monster’s lair. It sets the setting for us. It explains how the monster’s lair is a hidden place with lots of cliffs, crazy winds, and rocky waters. It is meant to give us the feeling of being scared. This is even more significant because the king asks Beowulf to risk his life again by going to the lair and finding Grendel’s mother. If Beowulf can complete these tasks he will be rewarded. He agrees and travels to where she is.
Lines:
The howling winds blew over the ragged cliffs. Dust and rocks plummeting behind them and the sounds of roaring waters splashing against the cliffs below. Beowulf knew he had found the place that he was looking for. Now the question is, will he find Grendel’s mother?
For my last image, I choose to show a picture of the setting of the story. Specifically the lair of the monsters. The lair is where Grendel and his mother resided. This image shows the viewers how extreme the terrain Beowulf was getting himself into. It shows how the lair was no warm, cozy place Beowulf was throwing himself into. it shows the terrifying hardship Beowulf had to conquer through his battles.
knight on a horse – Google Search
This was a very cool project! I think the scenes you chose to include represent the overall arc of Beowulf very well. The images you selected also capture the vibe of Beowulf. I like how you mentioned the way your project evolved, starting as a full story book but turning into something more reasonable to accomplish in the time allotted. Great job!
Great work with this post. Beowulf is super long, more than 3,000 lines I think, so I give major props to you for narrowing down the story enough to fit nicely into a children’s book. You picked the major parts and paired them with the pictures well. Awesome job!